VIDEO: Epic tiger release in Russia is wildly successful

Celebrations are underway on both sides of the world as tigers Svetlaya and Ustin were safely released back to wild. This concludes the largest release of endangered Amur (aka Siberian) tigers in history and signals the return of the subspecies to historic tiger habitat in Russia’s Far East, a resounding victory for conservationists and animal welfare advocates.

The reintroduction of these five tigers, out of 360 remaining in the wild, is the culmination of life-saving rescues of orphaned tigers, months of rehabilitation efforts, and a smooth relocation and release involving the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Special Inspection Tiger, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, the Russian Academy of Sciences, Phoenix Fund, and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

To study their post-release survival, scientists are tracking the tigers using satellite technology.